Floatation vest



3, 1962 E. G. BAKER 3,050,753

FLOATATION VEST Filed April 28, 1959 48 INVENTOR 5064 6. 5 K59 BY L 9 2A ORNEY United States Patent Ofitice assent Patented Aug. 28,, 19623,956,753 FLOATATIQN VEST Edgar G. Baker, Carbondale, Pa. Filed Apr. 28,1959, Ser. No. 869,495 4 Claims. ((11. 9-337) My invention relates to afloatation vest and more particularly to an improved floatation vestwhich is especially adapted for use by an infant.

A floatation vest for buoyantly supporting the wearers body in the watershould be firmly secured to the wearers body so that it will not slip01f when, for example, the person wearing the vest jumps or falls intothe water. Then too the buoyancy of the vest should be so distributedthat it supports the wearers body in a position with the head up andwith the face clear of the water. I have discovered that these twodesirable objects can be accomplished by properly shaping the buoyantmass of the vest. I contour the inner surface of the buoyant mass to theshape of the wearers body to provide a large frictional resistancebetween the body and the vest. This increased friction serves to holdthe vest securely on the wearers body without the necessity of usingstraps or the like which either are too tight or do not permit freedomof movement of the wearers body. I arrange the material making up thebuoyant mass of the vest with a major portion at the upper part of thewearers body adjacent the head so that the body is supported with thehead up and with the face out of the water. It is further desirable thatthe vest be capable of being donned and removed with ease.

The two desirable buoyant vest characteristics, outlined hereinabove,that the buoyant mass be contoured to the wearers body to prevent thevest from slipping off and that the major portion of the vest materialbe adjacent the upper part of the body to float the body in a semi-erectposition, are of particular importance where the wearer is an infant whocannot help himself to any appreciable degree.

It is well known that infants have heads which are disproportionatelylarge with respect to their bodies. A buoyant vest of the type describedhereinabove, which is formed with an opening large enough to accommodatethe infants head to permit the vest to be slipped onto the infants body,tends to defeat the purposes outlined hereinabove. The opening would beso large that a major portion of the vest material no longer would belocated at the upper part of the infants body adjacent his head.Moreover, if such a vest Were contoured to the shape of the infants bodyadjacent the buoyant mass of the vest, it would be likely to be forcedoff the infants body over the infants head with relative ease.

I have invented a buoyant vest which is especially adapted for use by aninfant. My vest may readily be placed on the infants body by slippingthe vest over the infants head. My vest accomplishes this result whileat the same time permittin buoyant material to be contoured to the shapeof the upper portion of the infants body. My vest may readily be placedon an infants body in the manner described above, while at the same timeassuring that a major portion of the buoyant mass is at the upperportion of the infants body adjacent his head to support the infant in asemi-erect position with his face out of the water.

One object of my invention is to provide a buoyant vest which isespecially adapted for use by an infant.

Another object of my invention is to provide a buoyant vest which mayreadily be slipped over the head of an infant, while at the same timehaving a buoyant mass which is contoured to the shape of the upperportion of the infants body.

and

A further object of my invention is to provide a buoyant vest for use byan infant which may readily be slipped over the infants head, while atthe same time providing a major portion of its buoyant mass adjacent theupper part of the infants body to float the infant with his head up andhis face out of the water.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a buoyant vest foruse by an infant which is firmly held to the infants body, while at thesame time being comfortable and permitting a great degree of freedom ofmovement.

Other and further objects of my invention will appear from the followingdescription:

In general my invention contemplates the provision of a buoyant vesthaving front and back masses, each formed with shoulder portionsproviding front and back neck recesses. I provide shoulder straps forsecuring the shoulder portions of the front and back masses together. Iso connect the straps to the shoulder portions as to permit the massesto be separated to provide an opening which is sufficiently large topermit the vest to he slipped over an infants head. When this has beendone, the masses come into engagement with the upper portion of theinfants body to cause the recesses to form a neck opening which is toosmall to permit the vest to slide back over the infants head. My vestincludes a strap for securing the buoyant masses in a position on theinfants body. I contour the masses to the shape of the upper portion ofthe infants body and so dispose the material making up the masses thatmy buoyant vest supports the infant with his head up and with his faceout of the water.

In the accompanying drawings to which reference is made in the instantspecification and which are to be read in conjunction therewith and inwhich like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in thevarious views:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of my buoyant vest shown in use on thebody of an infant.

FIGURE 2 is -a perspective view of my buoyant vest showing thearrangement of parts.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of my buoyant vest with the front andback masses separated to provide an opening of a size sufficient toaccommodate the head of an infant.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of my buoyant vest taken along line 44 ofFIGURE 3.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, my buoyant vestindicated generally by the reference character 16 has a front buoyantmass indicated generally by the reference character 12 and a rearbuoyant mass indicated generally by the reference character '14. Thefront mass 12 includes a floation member 16 formed of any suitablebuoyant material such, for example, as a molded foam rubber.Conveniently, I provide the member 16 with a fabric cover 18 formed froma suitable material, such as a light canvas cut to the proper shape andsewed over the member 16 to provide a cover 18 which closely follows thecontour of the filler 16.

The back buoyant mass 14 has a filler 20 molded from a suitablematerial, such as foam rubber and is provided with a cover 22 made fromlight canvas or a similar fabric cut to shape and sewed over the filler2i).

I provide the front mass '12 with a pair of shoulder extensions 24 and26 which form a front neck recess '23. The rear mass 14 has respectiveshoulder extensions 30 and 32 which form a rear neck recess 34. Iprovide respective shoulder straps 36 and 38 for assembling the frontand back buoyant masses 12 and 14. I secure one end of each of thestraps 36 and 38 to the fabric cover 18 adjacent the ends of therespective extensions 24 and 26 by means of rows of stitching 40 and 42.I secure the other ends of the straps 36 and 38 to the back shoulderextensions 30 and 32 at points which are spaced from the ends of theseextensions. Conveniently, I employ stitching 44 and 46 for securing thestraps to the cover 22 of the back mass 14. As will be explained indetail hereinafter, the distance of the points at which the straps aresecured to the rear extensions 30 and 32 from the ends of theseextensions is such that the masses 12 and 14 may be separated to providean opening which is sufiiciently large to permit the vest to he slippedover an infants head. With the vest in position, the ends of the rearextensions 30 and 32 lie adjacent the ends of the front extensions 24and 26 to cause recesses 28 and 34 to form a neck opening which is toosmall to permit the infants head to slip through the opening.

Any suitable means, such as stitching 4S, secures a length of webbing54) to the lower front of the cover 18 of mass 12. This length ofwebbing 50 forms a part of the vest belt. Respective loops 52 and 54,formed in the ends of webbing 50, carry buckles indicated generally bythe reference characters 56 and 58. Each buckle 56 and 58 includes apair of rectangular metal members 60 and 62. Stitching 64 secures a loop66 of webbing carrying a buckle indicated generally by the referencecharacter 68 to a point adjacent the middle of the length of webbing 50.

My vest includes a length of webbing 70 forming the remainder of thevest belt. I secure the belt 70 to an extension 72 at the bottom of thecover 22 of the back mass 14 by means of stitching 74. With the vest inposition on an infants body, the ends of the belt 70 may be loopedthrough the members 60 and 62 of buckles 56 and 58 to hold the vestsnugly around the wears waist. Stitching 76 secures a loop 7-8 ofwebbing to the extension 72 adjacent the midpoint of the belt webbing70. Loop 78 carries a fitting Soto which I secure a crotch strap 82 bymeans of a loop 84 held in the strap 82 by stitching 86. The end ofcrotch strap 82, remote from fitting 80, is adapted to be looped aroundthe members of buckle 68 to hold the vest down on the infants body.

I contour the inner surface of the front mass 12 to the chest and frontshoulder portion of the infants body and contour the back mass 14 to theupper back and rear shoulder portion of the infants body. In addition, Iprovide a greater amount of buoyant material in the front mass 12 thanin the back mass 14 to cause the vest to support the infant face up inthe water in a semi-erect position. In order to ensure this result, Imay make the front buoyant mass with an eccentric center of buoyancy toprovide a turning moment for rotating the infants body to a face-upposition.

In use of my buoyant vest, when the vest is to be placed on the infantsbody, I separate the masses, as shown in FIGURE 3, to provide an openingwhich is sufliciently large to accommodate the infants head. The vest isnext slipped over the infants head and the ends of the belt 70 arepassed around the infants waist and secured to the buckles 56 and 58.The belt 82 is passed through the legs of the infant and secured to thebuckle 6-8. With the buoyant masses 12 and 14 of the vest thus heldonthe infants body, the front and back mass recesses 28 and 34 form anopening which is too small to perunit the infants head to slip downthrough the opening to cause the vest to fall away from the wearersbody. Thus any vest has the advantages of fitting closely to the infantsbody without discomfort and of supporting the infant buoyantly with hishead up and with his face out of the water.

It will be seen that I have accomplished the objects of my invention. Ihave provided a bouyant vest which is especially adapted for use by aninfant. My vest may easily be placed on the infants body by slipping thevest over his head. While permitting this use, the vest is contoured tothe infants body to prevent it from readily slipping ofi, and thebuoyant material of the vest i s so disposed as to support the infant ina semi-erect position with his face out of the water.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of myclaims. It is further obvious that various changes may be made indetails within the scope of my claims without departing from the spiritof my invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that my invention isnot to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim 18:

1. A buoyant vest for use by a wearer having a certain head sizeincluding in combination a first buoyant mass, a second buoyant massformed with shoulder extensions having ends, a pair of shoulder strapscarried by said first buoyant mass and means for securing said straps tosaid second buoyant mass at points spaced from the ends of said secondmass shoulder extensions, the length of said straps being such that saidstraps and i masses define a restrictive neck opening of a size smallerthan said certain size when said vest is in position on the wearersperson to prevent the vest from slipping over the wearers head, saidstraps being free of said second mass shoulder extensions over theportions of their lengths extending from said points to permit the endsof sald second mass shoulder extensions to be swung away from from saidstrap lengths to form an opening of a size larger than said certain sizeto permit said vest to be slipped readily over the wearers head.

2. A buoyant vest for use by a wearer having a certain head sizeincluding in combination a front buoyant mass having shoulder extensionsforming a front neck recess, a rear buoyant mass having shoulderextensions having ends, a pair of shoulder straps, means securing saidstraps to one of said masses at points adjacent the mass shoulderextensions and means for securing said straps to the other mass atpoints spaced from the ends of the mass shoulder extensions, the lengthsof said straps being such that said straps and said masses define arestrictive neck opening of a size smaller than said certain size whensaid vest is in position on the wearers person to prevent said vest fromslipping over the wearers head, said straps being free of said othermass shoulder extensions over the portion of their lengths extendingfrom said points to permit the ends of said second mass extensions to beswung away from said strap lengths to form an opening of a size largerthan said certain size to permit the vest to be slipped readily over thewearers head.

3. A buoyant vest for use by a wearer having a certain head sizeincluding in combination a front buoyant mass having shoulder extensionsforming a front neck recess, a rear buoyant mass having shoulderextensions forming a rear neck recess, said shoulder extensions havingends, a pair of shoulder straps, means securing said straps to one ofsaid masses at points adjacent the ends of the mass shoulder extensions,means for securing said straps to the other mass at points spaced fromthe ends of the mass shoulder extensions, the lengths of said strapsbeing such that said straps and said masses define a restrictive neckopening of a size smaller than said certain size when said vest is inposition on the wearers person to prevent said to be slipped readilyover the wearers head and means.

for securing said masses to the wearers body.

4. A buoyant vest for use by a wearer having a certain head sizeincluding in combination a first buoyant mass, a second buoyant masshaving shoulder extensions formed with ends and means for securing saidfirst and second masses to each other, said securing means comprising ashoulder strip carried by said first mass and means for securing saidstrap to said second mass at a point spaced from one of said second massshoulder extension ends, the length of said strap being such that saidstrap and said masses define a restrictive neck opening of a sizesmaller than said certain size when said vest is in position on thewearers person to prevent said vest from slipping readily over thewearers head, said strap being free of said second mass shoulderextension over the portion of its length extending from said point topermit the end of said second mass shoulder extension to which saidstrap is secured to be swung away from said strap length to form anopening of a size larger than said certain size to permit the vest to heslipped readily over the wearers head.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,179,272 Boddy Apr. 11, 1916 2,177,442 Reed Oct. 24, 1939 FOREIGNPATENTS 812,781 France Feb. 8, 1937 466,227 Italy Oct. 23, 1951

